martes, 16 de diciembre de 2014

Dolphin nicknamed Fungi, believed to have lived in Irish harbour alone for past 30 years, spotted within touching distance of a boat

A dolphin nicknamed Fungi, thought to have lived alone in an Irish harbour for the past 30 years, was photographed leaping within touching distance of a boat after chasing the vessel.

The image was taken by Mike Murphy, 45, after he managed to whip his iPhone out to capture a shot on the dolphin’s fourth leap in a row next to his boat as he returned from the seaweed farm he runs in Dingle Harbour in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.

The dolphin is well-known among locals and popular with tourists, with boat tours organised for the sole purpose of spotting Fungi in the bay, where it is believed to have lived alone for 30 years.

David Millard, 45, who was with Mr Murphy when he took the photo on Monday afternoon, said: “The dolphin torpedoed next to us. He’s very playful. He will chase the boats around the harbour.

“There’s quite a tourist industry on the back of him, lots of Fungi boats that take tourists out, and he will follow the fastest boats.

“The most amazing thing is he was circling the boat, he goes at incredible speed.”

Mr Millard, 45, who works for the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, added: “If I had stuck my hand out, I could have touched him.

“I have seen him a couple of dozen times, but never in such close proximity. I have heard he can jump over the top of the boats. It was such an experience.”

martes, 2 de diciembre de 2014

Bioluminescence causes the sand to glow on the island of Mjorn, Sweden. Organisms such as fireflies and anglerfish produce a fluorescent glow by releasing the chemical luciferin, which reacts with oxygen to create light.

Tom Cruise is pictured at Piccadilly Underground Station in London, during filming for Mission Impossible 5. Scenes were filmed in central London with no prior warning or publicity, using fixed cameras in shops and on rooftops. The Hollywood star was hardly noticed by the general public.Brothers Lee and Paul Brailsford began decorating their home 18 years ago starting with a single Christmas tree. Their collection of decorations has grown so rapidly that it now includes tens of thousands of lights. The pair, helped by characters from Disney's Frozen and Aardman animations, last night turned on their phenomenal display, which raises money for Bristol Children's Hospital.

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is erected. The traditional Norwegian Spruce tree is a gift from the people of Norway for Britain's help during WWII.American artist Guy Bunn carved this intricate elephant sculpture from an ostrich eggshell.

lunes, 1 de diciembre de 2014

With Thanksgiving feasts come Black Friday sales. While many people believe the term Black Fridayfinds its roots in the sense of black meaning “showing a profit; not showing any losses,” this is not the case.

Historically, black has been associated with days of economic stress as opposed to days of booming commercial success. The first Black Fridayoccurred in 1869 after financier Jay Gould and railway businessman James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market, which ultimately resulted in financial panic and the collapse of the market. In turn, when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, marking the onset of the Great Depression, the event was referred to as Black Tuesday.

Following suit with the earlier “black” days, the true origin of the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday lies in the sense of black meaning “marked by disaster or misfortune.” In the 1950s, factory managers first started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving asBlack Friday because so many of their workers decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend. About ten years later, Black Friday was used by Philadelphia traffic cops to describe the day after Thanksgiving, when they had to work 12-hour shifts in terrible traffic. Soon the term caught on among shoppers and merchants in Philadelphia, and from there it took off nationwide.

The 1980s brought the mythology of Black Friday so often heard today. While the phrases in the black and in the red are used in the business world to describe profits and losses, this explanation for one of the busiest shopping days of the year only came about in the 1980s, about 20 years after the phrase Black Friday was in regular use.

lunes, 24 de noviembre de 2014

Few word pairs capture the idiosyncrasies of the English language as effectively as a while and awhile. Both of these terms are expressions of time, and both have been in use for over a century, but one is written with a space while the other is one word. What are the differences in meaning between the two? And what are the appropriate uses of each?

These two terms represent different parts of speech. The two-word expression a while is a noun phrase, consisting of the article a and the noun while, defined as “a period or interval of time.” The one-word awhile is an adverb that means “for a short time or period.” Although these definitions are similar, and although the terms can sometimes be used interchangeably, there are a few simple rules that prove helpful in keeping them straight.

The noun phrase a while can and often does follow a preposition, such as for or in: “He said he would be home in a while.” The adverb awhile cannot follow a preposition, a rule that makes sense if you revisit the definition of the term and drop it into a sentence such as the one above: “He said he would be home in for a short time or period.” However, if we omit the preposition and rewrite it as “He said he would be home awhile,” the sentence works with a slightly altered meaning.

The base word in both of these expressions, while, is perhaps most commonly used as a conjunction, meaning “during,” “although,” or “throughout the time that,” as in “She ate the cookie dough while he greased the baking sheet.” These senses are separate from the noun and adverbial senses discussed above. While can also be used as a verb meaning “to cause (time) to pass, especially in some easy or pleasant manner,” as in “She whiled away the hours ruminating on the differences between awhile and a while

jueves, 20 de noviembre de 2014

Hi everyone, OK, so for today's post I thought I'd show you all some important events that have taken place on November 20th. Here is a video showing highlights of this day in history. The video shows the following events: Nazi war crimes trial begins at Nuremberg; Robert F. Kennedy born; Britain's future Queen Elizabeth II marries; Spain's dictator Francisco Franco dies; Mexican Revolution begins; 'Cabaret' hits Broadway. (Nov. 20).

The Tower of London poppy installation has proved hugely popular, attracting millions of visitors so far, with many more to come. Here are the facts behind the awe-inspiring display

In the98 days since the first of the 888,246 ceramic poppies was planted at the Tower of London, the installation has become a focal point of Britain's remembrance events in this, the 100th anniversary year of the start of theFirst World War.

It was created by the ceramic artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper.

An estimated four million people are believed to have visited the display and floodlights were kept on during the nights leading up to Armistice Day to allow more visitors to see the installation.

"We always hoped the installation would capture the public imagination yet we could not predict the level of support we have received," said former army chief General Richard Dannatt, now the Constable of the Tower of London.

miércoles, 5 de noviembre de 2014

Toffee apples are whole apples covered in a hard toffee or sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at autumn festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) because these festivals fall in the wake of the annual apple harvest.

Ingredients

8 Granny Smith apples

400g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar

4 tbsp golden syrup

Method1) Place the apples in a large bowl, then cover with boiling water (you may have to do this in 2 batches). This will remove the waxy coating and help the caramel to stick. Dry thoroughly and twist off any stalks. Push a wooden skewer or lolly stick into the stalk end of each Apple.

2) Lay out a sheet of baking parchment and place the apples on this, close to your stovetop. Tip the sugar into a pan along with 100ml water and set over a medium heat. Cook for 5 mins until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the vinegar and syrup. Set a sugar thermometer in the pan and boil to 140C or 'hard crack' stage. If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the toffee by pouring a little into a bowl of cold water. It should harden instantly and, when removed, be brittle and easy to break. If you can still squish the toffee, continue to boil it.

3) Working quickly and carefully, dip and twist each apple in the hot toffee until covered, let any excess drip away, then place on the baking parchment to harden. You may have to heat the toffee a little if the temperature drops and it starts to feel thick and viscous. Leave the toffee to cool before eating. Can be made up to 2 days in advance, stored in a dry place.

"Remember, remember,the fifth of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot. We see no reason why Gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot!"

In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up
the Houses of Parliament. Among them was
Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided that violent action was the answer.
A small group took shape, under the leadership of Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was warranted. Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. Today these conspirators would be known as extremists, or terrorists.

To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.
But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th.
The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators.
Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed.
It's unclear if the conspirators would ever have been able to pull off their plan to blow up the Parliament even if they had not been betrayed. Some have suggested that the gunpowder itself was so old as to be useless. Since Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators got caught before trying to ignite the powder, we'll never know for certain.
Even for the period which was notoriously unstable, the Gunpowder Plot struck a very profound chord for the people of England. In fact, even today, the reigning monarch only enters the Parliament once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. Nowadays, the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition.
On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

miércoles, 29 de octubre de 2014

Alex Rawlings was awarded the title of Britain's Most Multilingual Student, having learned 11 languages by age 21. What is his secret?! Alex has answered your questions on his language learning experiences in this video. He has also written an accompanying blog article on his language learning method: http://blogs.transparent.com/language...

martes, 28 de octubre de 2014

Jerez celebrates each year the European Day of Wine Tourism, thus commemorating the importance of Sherry Wine and Brandy for a territory in which the wine presence dates back thousands of years.
The European Tourism Day is a unique opportunity to enjoy unique activities in autumn, to be found in a comprehensive program that allows you to enjoy the cultural traits linked to wine in the city such as the Sherry wine bike path, Sherry and Cadiz wines paired with gourmet products, open days to wineries, museums, and other attractions, gymcatas (tasting gymkhanas), special wine tasting sessions, bike trails, poetry readings, exhibitions, music shows...

jueves, 23 de octubre de 2014

LearnEnglish Kids has lots of free online games, songs, stories and activities for children to have fun and learn English too.

Kids

You can become a member, make your own cool character and enter competitions. When you are a member you can comment across the site and answer questions in your turn to practise your reading and writing.

Parents and teachers

You can become a member of Learn English Parents to download learning resources. As a member you can also watch video tips and download articles from language learning experts.
Go to our Parents forum to share ideas and ask questions about helping your child learn English.

lunes, 6 de octubre de 2014

Hi everyone,
Here we have the winners of the first writing competition of the year! As you know there are two age groups. The younger group is for 7 - 11 year olds and the older group is for 12 - 16 year olds.
The first winner of the year for the younger group is Máriam. Here is a photo of Máriam with her teacher.

She was very pleased with her certificate and book. Here is a photo of her looking happy with her teacher and classmates. Well done Máriam!!!

The winner of the older group is María Isabel. Here is a photo of her with her book and classmates. She was also very happy with her certificate and prize!!

martes, 30 de septiembre de 2014

The Loch Ness monster, also called “Nessie”, is a creature that is supposed to live in Loch Ness, the largest lake in northern Scotland. Since Roman times the legend of a mysterious sea creature has been alive through numeroussightings of the animal.

When the Romans came to Scotland in the first century the Picts were the main inhabitants. They were fascinated by animals and spoke of a strange beast swimming in one of the lakes in the Scottish highlands. The first references go back to the sixth century when a man was supposedly saved from the swimming beast of Loch Ness.

Over the centuries the legend of the Loch Ness monster has never gone away. In the 1930s a new road was built along the shore of Loch Ness. In 1933 , a couple who was driving along this road reported an enormous animal splashing on the surface of the lake. In the following months newspapers sent reporters and photographers to the lake to make observations. Even footprints of an enormous animal were found.

In the following decades most scientistsdeclared the sightings a fake and claimed that it was impossible for a dinosaur-like creature to have survived for millions of years. However, most of the people who went to Loch Ness were serious and honest and, for sure, were not interested in producing a scam.

Many books were written about the monster of Loch Ness. Several photographs made it to the front pages of the newspapers. The most famous photograph came from a British surgeon in 1934 . Robert Wilson, a London doctor, took a photo of a creature with a long neck that stood out of the water. In 1975 the Sunday Telegraph proved that this photo was fake.

As time went on investigation became more serious. Scientists from all over the world started coming to Loch Ness to investigate the phenomenon. The BBC and four universities led expeditions to the Scottish lake to find out more about the monster. They were equipped with scientific instruments and machines that could be used in the deep water of the lake. Although the expeditions came up with no real results they did find out that something was moving in the lake , which they could not explain.

In 1975 an American-based expedition used underwater photography and special sonar to examine the Loch Ness. The underwater camera was able to take images of a moving object that had flippers. Based on these photos some scientists concluded that the 20-foot long creature was possibly an ancientreptile that became extinct with the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.

In the last three decades more sonar observations were made with even more advanced equipment. And still, they produced objects that could not be identified. Whether fact or fiction, Loch Ness has become a tourist attraction in northern Scotland, and even if there is no monster, the legend lives on.